Morgan's life was settling into place with the gentle ease of a heron coming in for a landing on a still Massachusetts lake. Jason, the man she loved, was a serene presence in her world. Their evenings of kayaking on Manchaug Pond were the perfect counterpoint to her days writing and maintaining an online presence. The world was in balance.

And then, in the shadowy depths behind Sutton's long-abandoned drive-in, Morgan stumbles across a shallow grave holding the skeletal body of a young woman. How long had the girl lain there? Why had nobody reported her missing?

The only clue to the girl's identity is a beeswax Santa figurine, one of the first prototypes created by the artisans at Vaillancourt Folk Art.

The trail delves into a world of prejudice and jealousy, of shattered dreams and lost hopes. Through it all, Morgan and Jason steadfastly hold to their vision - that they can at last bring justice and peace to this one girl's memory.

All author's proceeds of this series benefit battered women's shelters.

Birch Blackguards is the second novel in the award-winning Sutton Massachusetts Mystery series. It is followed by Cedar Conundrums.

All novels in the Sutton Massachusetts Mystery series are written in a boots-on-the-ground, chapter-a-day format. On August 1st, author Lisa Shea went to the Sutton drive-in, and then that evening she wrote up the actual sights and sounds of that visit. That was Chapter One. The same process held true for each subsequent day and location. By August 31st the book was laid out. Each book captures a moment in time; as a whole the series shows the progression of events, news, and nature over the years.

Lisa has lived in Sutton for nearly two decades and strives to craft stories which transport readers to her beautiful town. She offers a glimpse into Sutton's combination of centuries-old history and a modern, sliced-through-by-a-busy-highway existence. Lisa visits the actual locations mentioned in the story, experiences the atmosphere, and then infuses those rich colors, trilling bird-songs, and pungent fragrances into her story in a richly descriptive manner reminiscent of Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Then toss in an ample seasoning of local culinary delights, and this is the world of the Sutton Massachusetts Mystery Series